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| My attempt to be artistic |
Every Friday I stop by the Chase ATM by my apartment
to grab my weekly allowance because I was inspired to become financially fit
after I read Suzie Orman’s book, The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke (2005). Thank you, Chels, for lending me this
book when I first moved to Chicago last summer. I had just graduated with my Master
of Science in Student Affairs in Higher Education degree from Miami University
in Oxford, OH so I could relate to every
single word in Susie’s title!
Orman’s book is designed to be a comprehensive, all in one
guide to almost any financial issue that should arise in a young person’s life.
For example, she covers topics ranging from improving your FICO score to
investing for your retirement. Clearly, this book was very handy when I sat down with my institution
‘s HR department to speak about my benefits. Also, it encouraged me to take
additional efforts outside of work to contribute to my personal finances.
The biggest lesson I learned from Susie is that I should use
cash rather than swipe my card all the time. Did you know that there is
research out there (I will cite them one day) that proves that people who use
cash tend to be more cautious about their spending? I totally believe it
because whenever I swipe my card at a restaurant I never think twice about it.
However, it’s always a little painful to hand over a $20 bill to a cab driver
because I can physically see my hard-earned money being taken away from me. So I
figured…why not go old school and give myself a weekly allowance that will go
towards everything I want besides my weekly groceries? This includes money I may
need for dinner club, an iced- grande -diet green tea from Starbucks, new
clothes, gum, etc. When the money is gone…the money is gone and I just have to
count the days till Friday hits. I am usually good about staying within my
limits, but some weeks my social calendar is more packed than others and a girlfran has got to shout T.G.I.F.!
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